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Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Review: Useless Bay by M.J. Beaufrand + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everyone! Today is my stop on the blog tour for Useless Bay by M.J. Beaufrand hosted by Rockstar Book Tours so a huge thanks to them for letting me be a part of the tour!

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Down below is my review of the book as well as all the links to where you can purchase your very own copy, the author links to see what's up, and last but not least the GIVEAWAY! I hope you guys enjoy this review and be sure to enter the giveaway if you so choose to do so. Enjoy!

A gritty, psychological thriller about a mythic set of sixteen-year-old quintuplets searching for a young boy.

On Whidbey Island, the Gray quintuplets are the stuff of legend. Pixie and her brothers have always been bigger and blonder than their neighbors, as if they were birthed from the island itself. Together, they serve as an unofficial search-and-rescue team for the island, saving tourists and locals alike from the forces of wind and sea. But, when a young boy goes missing, the mysteries start to pile up. While searching for him, they find his mother’s dead body instead—and realize that something sinister is in their midst. Edgar-nominated author M. J. Beaufrand has crafted another atmospheric thriller with a touch of magical realism that fans of mystery and true crime will devour.

Rating:

PROS:

1. Can we just talk about that cover? It was pretty much the first thing that had me interested in the book and the synopsis only sealed the deal for me. I love a good mystery or psychological thriller so when I read what the book was about, I just had to sign up and hope I got the chance to review it for you guys. Needless to say, I read it, formed my thoughts, and have a few things to tell you about this book. Here's the review:

2. This book starts out in a very mysterious way, first establishing the characters then heading on into the disappearance of the boy and his mother. My first impressions on going into this book was how unique the characters were. The Gray quintuplets were described as kids who were practically a part of the island, they were birthed from the island itself, they belonged to the island and no one else. I was really interesting to hear how the townspeople thought of them and how they came off as being more magical than anything else. It had me hooked on wanting to know more about these teens as they went about searching for the missing boy, intrigued on the air of mystery they had about them.

3. The backdrop was absolutely stunning, that's the only word I can think of to describe it. The whimsical feel of Useless Bay is both enchanting and scary at the same time. The island is known for its uniqueness but also known as the island where everything dead eventually washes up on its shores. The writing only helped to really make the island something that you think only exists in your imagination even though the area is a real place in the real world. You can almost feel the mystery radiating off the book the entire time you're reading it which I seriously LOVED.

The reason why I didn't give this book a five-star rating is because even though I was addicted to the events playing out in this book, the fast pace, the themes, the mystery surrounding literally everything in this book, I did sometimes find the magic in this book and the twists to be a little confusing or unexplained. I had a few questions as to how the magic that connected the quintuplets worked and, well, I didn't really get answers at the end of the book. The twists were fun, though a little random at times, so I would've liked a little more explanations to really make me love this book

Overall, I think this mystery is just a lot of fun, magical, enchanting, and reminded me a little bit of The Vanishing Season meets Spiderwick. If you want a fun, interesting, quick read, then check this one out because it might just surprise you.

Mary Jane grew up in Gresham, Oregon. She’s a graduate of Wellesley College and has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Program. Currently she lives in Seattle with her husband, two children, and dogs. In the eighties she had a bad perm.